News in brief: Recovery will take decade, IMF warns, Drivers buy 500m litres less petrol, EU sets deadline for Glenstrata decision, Spurs billionaire wins Timeweave

The world’s economy will take at least a decade to recover from the financial crisis that began in 2008, the IMF’s chief economist Olivier Blanchard said today.

Blanchard said in an interview: “It’s not yet a lost decade... but it will surely take at least a decade from the beginning of the crisis for the world economy to get back into decent shape.” He added that deficit-cutting in Europe was unavoidable but should be carried out without stifling growth.

Drivers buy 500m litres less petrol

Struggling motorists bought almost 500 million litres fewer of petrol between April and June than a year earlier despite prices falling more than 10p a litre, according to official figures.

The AA motoring organisation said the petrol sales in the first half of year were more than two billion litres below 2008 levels, and accused the fuel industry of “trying to squeeze more money out of shrinking customer demand”.

EU sets deadline for Glenstrata decision

EU competition regulators will decide by November 8 whether to clear the £56 billion mining and commodities trading mega-merger Glencore and Xstrata finally agreed this week, the European Commission said today. It made its statement after Glencore notified the EU watchdog of its intention last night. The regulators are expected to look at the companies’ combined market power.

Spurs billionaire wins Timeweave

Joe Lewis, the billionaire owner of Tottenham Hotspur, today won the battle to buy Timeweave, the AIM-listed firm that owns 50% of Turf TV. The Timeweave board had dismissed his £50 million offer, saying it was “not in the interests of shareholders”. But today it said Lewis had received acceptances from shareholders representing just over 30% of the company. Lewis’s Mayfair Capital already has a 29.99% stake.